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It would be a “disaster” to consider the Online Safety Act a “done job”, a father who has lost a child has said, as he called on the next government to reform the law to address harms affecting children.
Ian Russell, whose 14-year-old daughter Molly died by suicide, said bold measures were needed to reassure parents of “real change” when it comes to internet safety and their children.
In 2022, a coroner ruled that Molly, a schoolgirl from Harrow, north-west London, died in November 2017 from “self-harm whilst suffering from depression and the harmful effects of online content”.
The Online Safety Act was passed into law in October and regulator Ofcom is working on a code of practice to help enforce the rules, but it is not expected to come into force until next year.
The law requires social media companies to curb the spread of illegal content on their platforms and prevent children from viewing potentially harmful material, and those who violate the new rules could face heavy fines and other penalties.
But Mr Russell said that while the legislation laid “really important” groundwork, the new government still needed to come up with ways to “stay on top of” developments in the rapidly changing world of technology.
The Molly Rose Foundation, a suicide prevention charity set up in memory of her daughter, has published a five-point plan to tighten regulations and fast-track “much-needed” change.
It would be a disaster if the next government starts looking at the Online Safety Act as a finished job. This isn't over yet. They need to complete the job and then think about how they're going to administer it.
Ian Russell, Molly Rose Foundation
“It would be a mistake to forget about the Online Safety Act or to think that it will finally be enacted at the end of 2023 and that will be the end of it,” Mr Russell told the PA news agency.
He added: “This is not being done because it's new, this is not being done because it needs to be revised, this is not being done because technology is moving so fast that even if we were to catch up in terms of legislation and regulations, technology would move on and we would have to adapt it again to catch up.”
“This is something that is constantly evolving and it would just be a disaster if the next government starts looking at the Online Safety Act as a finished job. This isn't over. They need to finish the job and they need to work out how to manage it.”
He said tech companies must be made clear that “the cost of entering the UK market is child safety” and called for a “fundamental restructuring of the relationship” between such companies and children.
The foundation's plan includes imposing comprehensive obligations on tech companies under the law and requiring regulators to focus on measurable harm reduction. Russell cited an annual study tracking the amount of harm found online and how individual tech platforms' algorithmic systems promote harmful content.
The bill also calls for imposing a legal obligation on major tech companies to report exposure to online harms on company accounts, a temporary harm reduction tax increase, statutory code for app stores and operating systems that would lead to “high-quality, well-designed age assurance and parental controls on children's devices,” and investments in education and mental health support.
The foundation does not support calls for a ban on mobile phones or social media, saying such actions “risk unintended consequences and could do more harm than good.”
“Political parties must commit to bold measures that can reassure parents that real change is on the way,” Mr Russell said.
“Clearly the best solution to a complex problem is regulation, not bans and restrictions that punish kids for the failures of big tech companies.”
“Politicians should commit to transforming children's lives with new online safety laws and a package of ambitious measures to challenge the harmful business models of Big Tech companies.”
